Two British men have been charged with offences under the National Security Act 2023 following a counter-terrorism investigation involving RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24, both from Westminster, London, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Abdulkarim is accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service, believed by counter-terrorism police to be Iran, in carrying out UK-related activities between August 31 and September 28.
Essghir has been charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK. Police say he was first arrested at the scene on September 27 and was re-arrested on October 20.
The investigation began after three suspicious vehicles were reported near the airbase in the early hours of September 27. Dozens of residents were evacuated while armed officers carried out searches and security checks.
Seven people have been arrested in connection with the inquiry, but Abdulkarim and Essghir are the only two to have been charged. The other five remain on police bail.
A 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national who was re-arrested last week has been released without charge and remains on police bail. He was initially detained on October 1.
Detectives have also interviewed another man under caution, police said.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “As a result, Mohammed Abdulkarim, a 24-year-old British national, from the borough of Westminster, London, has been charged under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, which makes it an offence to assist a foreign intelligence service.”
“In this case, we believe that country to be Iran,” he added.
Mr Taylor said: “We have seen a range of incidents in recent months that we believe have been directed by the Iranian state, and as the Director General of Mi5 said just the other week, we are working together to intervene, identify and respond to that threat.”
RAF Fairford has been used as a base for US bomber jets involved in strikes on Iran since conflict began in the Middle East at the start of this year.
Frank Ferguson, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the CPS had decided to prosecute the two men following a “high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford”.
He said the CPS would continue working with its partners as the “complex investigation” continued.
